AN ARTIST who “followed her dream” to create more than 100 contemporary works is bringing her exhibition to Uttlesford later this month.

Karen Adams has been on a nine-year journey which has culminated in pieces from her collections being snapped up by some of the most prestigious art galleries in the UK.

Starting out in 2001 she joined the Academy of Fine Arts in London and studied interior design and decorative paint techniques.

She said: “Knowing that my heart lay in the creative atmosphere of the art world, I decided to enrol.

“The knowledge gained from these courses inspired me to explore a new concept in contemporary painting, by creating highly tactile 3-D works using multi-layers of contrasting textures and materials.

“My abstract compositions, and the more recent representational images, employ either subtle palette ranges of complementary hues and tints or very dramatic and dynamic colour ways.”

Since 2004 Adams’ artistic career has expanded year on year. She has enjoyed success regionally, and has also been selected for entry into five open exhibitions, including the eastern open at King’s Lynn and the Maynard Gallery open at Welwyn Garden City.

Shortly after, she won in the abstract or experimental art category for beginners at an international competition in London.

Her career took an enormous leap in 2007 when The Royal Academy of Arts short-listed one of her abstract paintings for their summer exhibition.

“Since 2005 I have sold over 100 works, many of which were private commissions,” she said. “Several now hang in homes as far away as New Zealand, Bermuda, Poland, Spain and France.”